How To Flagstone » Remodeling

Home Remodeling and Renovation for the Do-It-Yourself Person

admin — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:02:10 +0000

In my attempt to help the average man be able to realize their "dream home" my blog gives several ideas and links to projects that can make our homes nicer and contribute to increasing the resell factor. After all, our homes are our biggest investment, so why wouldn't we try to get the most out of it? I will discuss the reasons fo......r choosing the DIY method over contracting. I will point out that no one can do the job better than ourselves. In conclusion I wiilhelp to overcome the obsticles that usually stand in our way.

Allow me to start by saying a little about myself; I have been in the home-remodeling or related field for over ten years. In that time I have encountered many different problems and challenging tasks, but I always finished the job and have not received any negative feedback. Home remodeling and renovation is 90% preparation and 10% labor. It is important to know exactly what you want and what is needed to get the desired results. All materials and help need to be on hand before the job gets underway! Even if the job requires several days to complete, with everything on hand you won't be making extra or unnecessary trips to the store.

Saving time and money is the key to having a good and rewarding time with your new remodeling project! With this in mind, it is a good idea to keep your eyes open for sales, rebates and discontinued items prior to starting your job. However we cannot use this as an excuse to put off starting our project. A simple technique to curb this sort of procrastination is to develop a time-line to when you will start. By having this time-line you will be sure that all your material will be at the site and your help will be on hand as well.

If you are reading this you may already know the obvious benefits of doing a job yourself over hiring a contractor. I will just briefly list a few here such as;

You pay no overhead which you would hiring a contractor; insurance, licensing fees, transportation expenses.
You must work around the contractors time-line.
You have strangers in your home. Most (but not all) contractor employees don't have to undergo very strict background checks.
Any material sales and rebates are not given to you as a discount.

I think you get the idea--Why hire a contractor? A famous quote we have all heard is:"If you want something done right,do it yourself." That saying holds more true even today with everyone racing to the "check" No one cares much about anything else than getting paid! This is our home, and if we can swing a hammer, read a tape-measure, and follow simple directions we are halfway there.

In conclusion, the only obstacle in our way is our self! We now know why we should do it our self and we know a little about how to get started. Our next step is to put it into action and get building something!

You can find my blog at http://www.guidetohomerenovation.blogspot.com

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Houston Swimming Pool Remodeling

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:55:50 +0000

Swimming pool remodeling is often done as part of a larger landscaping plan. Many times people purchase a home that already has a pool built many years before. Normally such a pool was built many years before by a pool contractor hired directly by the homeowner. The intention at that time was to create a pool whose function and fo......rm reflected the immediate interests of the homeowner when it came to matters of swimming, lounging, and entertaining by the pool. Most of these pool designs were very popular at the time, and still work very effectively from a functional perspective in our time. However, few pool contractors in years past (or even today for that matter) considered the benefits of recommending pool construction styles that directly complemented home architecture and landscape elements. It was not a matter of deliberate sabotage or even neglect-simply a lack of awareness of other disciplines that play a direct role in the overall aesthetic of the property.

Because of this, most people who buy a home that already has a swimming pool on premises end up seriously considering remodeling the pool when it comes time to upgrade the landscape in general. Suddenly, what looked like a nice pool when they first moved in becomes a subsequent challenge when the landscaping contractor points out how certain outdoor structures, garden styles, vegetation styles, and ornamental statuary will clash with the pool as it appears in its present form. Rather than limiting the options of our clients and recommending only designs that will work with what they have, Exterior Worlds has a policy of offering a swimming pool remodel included in our landscaping master plans. We study the surrounding terrain and specifics of home architecture, then look at ways to reshape the old pool structure into a new aesthetic that harmoniously blends with both. We then subcontract a reputable and established swimming pool remodeling company to handle the specifics of reconstruction, carefully managing their work to ensure that it remains consistent with the thematic intention of the project as a whole.

Sometimes an old swimming pool needs only minimal remodeling to look like a completely new structure. Something as simple as adding a spa, or installing a fountain, can totally transform its appearance. In other instances, it is not the pool itself that needs reconstruction, but rather what is around the pool. Many pools built in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s were constructed with a concrete coping and surrounding concrete slab for a patio. Others were built with wooden decks leading up to the coping. Such rudimentary designs offer only limited opportunities for landscaping upgrades unless replaced with more cosmetic structures. Patios made of flagstone and coping made with more cosmetic materials can often make an old swimming pool appear completely remodeled even though the only thing that has really been changed is what surrounds the pool.

Other swimming pools require more extensive remodeling to work with new landscape designs. For these projects, we begin by looking at municipal codes that may have changed since the structure was originally built. Any new construction must be in compliance with current regulations, so this is normally our starting point any time we remodel a pool that was built more than 15 years ago. In most of these older remodels, plumbing and electrical systems have to be completely overhauled to meet with regulatory compliance. If the shell is still good, we can simply remove the concrete, redo the plumbing and electrical, and then rebuild the structure around the existing shell.

In other instances, it may be determined that the original pool shell is simply in the wrong place and built in the wrong style. For example, there was a time about 30 years ago when lagoon style pools were in high demand. This particular style, however, clashes with most modern architecture and in almost every remodeling job has to be completely transformed into something more complimentary to its surroundings. If swimming pool remodeling is managed by under the general contract of a professional landscaping company, not only will the new pool work harmoniously with its surroundings, but it can actually function as something of an aesthetic hub whose spas, fountains, steps, benches, and patio designs create special outdoor living space that is highly decorative and specifically oriented toward comfort and entertainment.

Jeff Halper is passionate for Landscaping and wants to share information about that passion. At Exterior Worlds you can read more about Houston Swimming Pool Remodeling or Landscaping Design